Skinned honeycomb extrusion is accomplished by extruding plasticized ceramic-forming batch materials, such as cordierite ceramic forming batch materials, through honeycomb extrusion dies to form structures having a central webbed cellular honeycomb structure surrounded by a thin integral outer skin layer. Such skins provide additional strength to such honeycomb articles. Typically, the honeycomb extrusion dies employed to produce such skinned honeycomb articles are multi-component assemblies including, for example, a web-forming die body combined with a skin-forming mask. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,349,329 and 4,298,328 exemplify die structures including skin-forming masks. The die body typically includes batch feed holes leading to and intersecting with an array of thin discharge slots formed in the die face, through which the batch material is extruded. This extrusion forms an interconnecting array of crisscrossing thin webs forming the central cellular honeycomb structure. The mask is generally a ring-like circumferential structure, typically in the form of a collar, defining the periphery of the skin of the honeycomb. The circumferential skin layer of the honeycomb article is formed by extruding the batch material between the mask and the die body.